Lecture (English)
Gertrud Sandqvist, Kunsthistorikerin, Malmö Art Academy, Lund

Thursday, November 18, 2010, 6 p.m. 

Two of Ana Torfs' works, "Du mentir-faux" (2000) and "Anatomy" ( 2006) have famous trials as points of departure. Displacement (2009) is on one level a work on a disintegrating marriage, but its dramaturgy can be seen as following a trial's, with accusations and defences.
The famous trials against Joan of Arc and the murderers of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg are in Torfs' works structured as dramas, in the case of Anatomy even with a Greek choir. Using Hannah Arendts famous discussions on the notions of truth, facts, and judgment I'm trying to follow Torfs' understanding of ethics in her work. A drama, yes, but on which scene?

Gertrud Sandqvist, professor in the theory and history of ideas of visual art at Malmö Art Academy, Lund University, Sweden. 1995-2007 she was Dean at Malmö Art Academy. 1992-1994 she was director of Galleri F 15, Norway. Gertrud Sandquist founded "Siksi - the Nordic Art Magazine" in 1986 and functioned as its editor until 1990. She is one of the founding members of EARN, European Art Research Network and was a member of the jury of DAAD–Berliner Künstlerprogramm 1998-2002. Gertrud Sandqvist is writing extensively on mainly Nordic and European contemporary art.